Tuesday, June 28, 2011

TSA is in the news this week after a security concern was identified during the screening of an elderly woman at a Florida airport. We are sympathetic to the passenger and regret that this event occurred at such a difficult time for her and her family.

While everybody does have to be screened, TSA works with passengers to resolve security concerns in a respectful and sensitive manner. In no instance would our officers ask a passenger to remove an adult diaper.

We have reviewed the circumstances involving this screening and determined that our officers acted professionally, according to proper procedure and did not require this passenger to remove an adult diaper. Various options to proceed through the checkpoint were presented to the passenger and her daughter during private screening to resolve an anomaly discovered during a pat down. Although TSA did not request it, the daughter ultimately chose to remove the adult diaper in a bathroom and return to the checkpoint.

Out of respect for passenger privacy, we will not disclose further details about the screening of this passenger except to assure that all protocols for resolving security concerns were followed and to reiterate that TSA works very hard to ensure all interactions with passengers are done as respectfully as possible.

Blogger Bob

TSA Blog Team

If you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.

Does TSA deny that they told the passenger's daughter that the diaper would have to be removed if the passenger was to be allowed to board her plane? Of course TSA is going to say their agents followed proper procedures. TSA would never admit a mistake or occasion of poor judgment on the part of one of their employees when it comes to dealing with the public. TSA always states that their employees follow procedure and always treat travelers with nothing less than great respect and much courtesy. I refuse to fly because of my many previous experiences with rude, insensitive, discourteous, self important individuals employed by TSA. I was tired of being yelled at and treated like a common criminal when I traveled and from the many, many news releases the attitude and actions of TSA has not changed. In fact, I think anyone with half a brain would have to say it has gotten much, much worse. Evidentially the actions of TSA are going be reined in by common sense, the courts, or legislation and Americans will not be subjected to the degradation and humiliation they must currently endure if they want to fly.

I thought that once you were in the secure and steril area, you weren't allowed to leave it until cleared. So is this not the case now? Can I leave the secure area and return too? Will I face a fine and possible arrest if I do?

And you DID force her to remove the undergarment. Would she have been able to fly without removing it? Of course she wouldn't have been able to. If she could, she would have. This isn't rocket science to figure out. My 4th grader figured that one out.

So, you sent/let her out of screening area with a potential bomb or drugs in her pants, let her return leaving the undergarment presumably in the restroom, (was it going to explode there? Or was a 6 year old going to get the heroin out of it?) COME ON!? Do I need to go on here?

You sent/let her out of the screening area and you thought she had a bomb or some other kind of contraband in her adult undergarment. Then she returned presumably leaving the undergarment in the bathroom. Is this proper disposal of a suspected bomb or drugs? I didn't think so.

Which is it? Are you just not thinking?? Or are you harassing poor old dying 95 year old women without cause?

Answer us two simple questions:

1. Would she have been able to fly that day, on her scheduled flight without removing her undergarment?2. Was allowing her to leave the security area to remove her undergarment Standard Operating Procedure?

Ya... whatever, HORSE HOCKEY. I don't expect you to answer you never do.

Screen shot taken of this post in case it becomes a victim of the Delete-o-meter.

Your rules are bad, Bad for moral, Bad for the USA and bad for your employees. If you really cared about our country you would do better job of teaching your employees to use common sense. If a young person comes in dressed liked a disabled old person then you should search them but when you strip search little old ladies and 6 year old little girls you make the rest of the country look bad. We are being laughed at by the rest of the world. They are calling us fools. Thank you.

Oh please! NONE of your searches and methods are necessary and you know it. But now that there's an army of idiots working at this degrading job, it would be like pulling teeth to reclaim our fourth amendment rights.

Posted by Blogger Bob: "In no instance would our officers ask a passenger to remove an adult diaper."

Question:

In this case, were there options presented to her to proceed through screening that did not involve her needing to remove the adult diaper?

I am not asking for specifics as it would be noted that it is either "personal" or "ssi". Just trying to determine if there were any options presented that would have allowed her to proceed through the rest of the screening without needing to remove it?

BobWhatever you or the TSA says about this incident will never change how the public now views the TSA and how it treats law abiding elderly citizens. The TSA is doing something very wrong if they insist that they must screen passengers in this fashion.

"Various options to proceed through the checkpoint were presented to the passenger and her daughter during private screening to resolve an anomaly discovered during a pat down."_______________So what was the "anomaly" you found on this poor 95-year old leukemia patient?

After you detained her for 45 minutes and searched her without her diaper, what did you find? A gun, a knife, a bomb? Let me guess, you found nothing. What a useless, waste of money TSA is.

I hope she lives long enough to sue you and see TSA shut down permanently.

TSA management clearly doesn't know what's going on with their workforce...one need only refer to a prior blog regarding the security incident in Hawaii. Your reviews of routine incidents are not credible.

The TSA has led America to a new low in respect for ourselves, and others. The TSA is systematically erasing all sense of self-pride for American travelers. Go ahead and pat yourselves on the back; you have accomplished a further degradation of societal norms that you so often reference.

We don't believe you, Bob, because we can't trust you. Your procedures are sick and degenerate and make no one safer. You and your ilk are a menace to society, and whenever I have no choice but to fly, I worry far more about you lot than I ever have about terrorists.

"While everybody does have to be screened, TSA works with passengers to resolve security concerns in a respectful and sensitive manner."

Okay ... so what happened in this situation then? Patting down and harassing a 95 year old cancer patient because of her adult diaper hardly seems "respectful" or "sensitive."

"In no instance would our officers ask a passenger to remove an adult diaper."

Once again ... what happened? Are you calling the two women liars? Sure, you say they didn't HAVE to remove the diaper ... they only had to remove it if they wanted to fly, right?

ONCE AGAIN, T.S.A. is in the news for being abusive to honest American citizens! You know how bad it's getting? Keith Olbermann called John Pistole the "Worst Person in the World" on his show and said if the T.S.A. justifies abusing a 95 year old then John Pistole "Needs to be fired and we need to get a human being in there to do his job" ... and I AGREE WITH HIM! Since when do I agree with ANYTHING that man says!?!

I have found myself jaded by past comments from TSA, and I find myself questioning the veracity of this latest post, especially, since semantics and word parsing have played a key role in past statements.

When the TSA says that the screeners "did not require this passenger to remove an adult diaper", unfortunately, I find myself questioning the statement. Was she presented with options that would have allowed her to not have to remove / change the adult diaper and still have an opportunity to make her anticipated flight? If not, then I find the comment disingenuous at best. If there were no options to allow her to proceed through screening without needing to remove / change the adult diaper, then I would find the comment an outright lie. If the options to proceed through screening and fly (whether it is was her scheduled flight or a later one) meant she had to remove / change the adult diaper to clear screening is, in fact, requiring that it be removed.

And to use the aspect that she "didn't have to fly" to mean she wasn't required to remove it, is merely an attempt to rationalize the actions. If that's the case, then, as many have suspected, the TSA "never" requires anyone to do anything to proceed through screening.

You state "everybody does have to be screened." Does that really mean everybody? Obviously that includes babies and nonagenarians. Does it include the airport workers? Does it include resolving all alarms triggered by TSA personnel? Perhaps you should start screening your people as they leave the secure area as quite a few have a nasty habit of picking up souvenirs from passenger bags. Pathetic.

Your entire organization is despicable. You work to ensure interactions are respectful? Don't make me laugh. In no circumstances would your officers ask a passenger to remove an adult diaper. I guess it all depends on the meaning of the word "ask" doesn't it? You all would say you are only following orders...You should all be ashamed.

Oh Bob, you can lay it on pretty thick. I am sure when the TSA gave the family the options for screening: 1) You can fly today if you remove the adult diaper so we can screen it, 2) You can go out and get a new adult diaper and go through screening again, or 3) no fly today. Hmmm...faced with those options, I am sure the family made what was (in their opinion) the right choice: the daughter took her mom to the restroom to remove the diaper so mom could make her flight. Disgusting that you would do that to a 95 year old women dying of cancer.

So let me get this straight. The official TSA position is that this woman was offered a number of alternatives to resolve this situation that did not involve removal of the adult diaper?

If that is the case, I shudder to think what those other "alternatives" were if the solution this woman chose was to remove the adult to finally get through security.

As I said in a previous post - the TSOs see the checkpoint as their private fiefdom and the passengers as their serfs. They make us jump through more and more hoops, each smaller than the previous one, with our shoes off, our belts in a bin and our pants around our ankles. And we let you...

Of course, with absolutely no repercussions, why should TSOs do anything different? If the policy says "x" they will blindly follow x. Nobody can blame them. They were only doing as they were told. Proper procedures were followed. Worst case scenario, they get a week long paid vacation from the checkpoint to attend retraining and do team building exercises.

We have reviewed the circumstances involving this screening and determined that our officers acted professionally, according to proper procedure and did not require this passenger to remove an adult diaper.

Of course. The fox always reports the hen house is well-guarded.

"I couldn't understand what they had felt on her leg, but apparently she had wet in her Depends, and they kinda bunch up and they made a hard spot. Which is what they came out and told me...."

So, Bob, please explain how the screeners would have felt the 'adult diaper' if they didn't actually put their hands in the woman's groin. And, if they do put their hands in people's groins, please explain how this is not sexual assault.

Although TSA did not request it, the daughter ultimately chose to remove the adult diaper in a bathroom and return to the checkpoint.

The very CNN story YOU link to shows that is a lie:

"My options were: a) I had to get that Depends off of her, or b) She was not going to get on the plane."

Various options to proceed through the checkpoint were presented to the passenger and her daughter...

Yeah- you offered her a choice- take off the diaper, OR don't fly today.

The TSA has zero credibility with the people (whom the TSA is supposedly trying to protect). First the story was that she was ordered to remove the diaper. Now you're saying she wasn't. Which is it?

I know I'm not the only person who refuses to fly until the TSA is disbanded. If a few airlines go bankrupt, so be it. I will not be treated like a criminal by "officers" who are not sworn law enforcement and have no understanding of civil rights.

The passenger was coerced, Bob, and you know it. Either let us examine the diaper or you don't fly.

From Wiki:

"Coercion (pronounced /koʊˈɜrʃən/) is the practice of forcing another party to behave in an involuntary manner (whether through action or inaction) by use of threats, rewards, or intimidation or some other form of pressure or force."

Followed Procedures.... what would those procedures be.... oh Thats right you hide behind lies and false classifications to obfuscate and hide the truth.

Didn't require to remove it but there are reports of the all to famous "Do you want to fly today!" threat being used.

how do you sleep at night Bob.

Then again TSA is famous for censorship either here by not letting posts through at the checkpoint like with 5 rather large blue shirts trying to block "proper procedures" groping. Go ahead bob and not let this one through, will only get you another OIG complaint and more letters to congress who are getting more and more heat to take action as the media ramps up the heat, like on a NBC nightly news tonight where the Head of El Al security called TSA a joke

Sorry Bob, we do not buy your story. Once again you claim "our officers acted professionally, according to proper procedure." We are getting tired of hearing this lame excuse for abuse and lack of common sense. Fix the procedures!

So technically the TSA did not directly require her TO REMOVE THE DIAPER but your agents were not letting her through security to get her plane with the diaper. A classic "Catch 22". So the daughter made the decision to remove the diaper so the poor woman could clear security and catch her plane. What is the difference - you left her no choice? Either way your agents mistreated an elderly and sickly woman, an American citizen. Shame on you all!

While everybody does have to be screened, TSA works with passengers to resolve security concerns in a respectful and sensitive manner.

really then what about the person at DFW Terminal D this evening hauling the massive flat bed cart full of boxes, bags of who knows what that was never checked ... or the 50 plus other people(in less then a 10 mins timeframe) that went through a exit without a second look, showing any ID, going through a WTMD or anything.

Yeah not everything is screened going into the "sterile/secure" area and you know Bob....your lying AGAIN.

respectful and sensitive... I beg to differ especially with the yelling/barking and attitudes displayed by people employed by TSA. like the 3 striper at DFW yelling at the elderly gentlemen that doesnt speak or understand a lick of english, so rather then trying find someone who speaks Spanish to help (not that hard considering the population in the DFW area) instead just raised the volume to try and get the person to do what they wanted until a DPS officer yelled at him and told him to stop acting like the north bound view of a south bound mule, and then translated for the lady.

Highly trained professionals....I think not!

It has only gotten worse since the "enhanced gropings"... "patdowns" were introduced

Please, Blogger Bob, don't insult our intelligence. You're justifying a complete lack of common sense and respect by defaulting to the usual vacuous response. It is unbelievable to me that this kind of thing keeps happening..here..in America. You can't honestly believe that we think this makes us safer. I am far more afraid of the mentality which attempts to make us believe that this kind of insanity is justified than I am of terrorists.

If theTSA screeners truly believed this 95 year old, medically- frail woman's Depends posed a threat to security, then why was the woman allowed to leave the check point, enter a restroom, and dispose the Depends?If the TSA screeners truly believed this 95 year old, medically -frail woman's Depends posed a threat to security, then the bomb squad should have been alerted.

Because a 95 year old woman with cancer is going to blow up a plane right? You heard it first people cancer patients, the physically disabled, the mentally challenged and six year old little girls are going to blow up a plain. NO MORE TSA BROWN SHIRT! The TSA is not law enforcement and has no law backing them up. Present the statue that gives the TSA it's authority. We demand the TSA uphold and defend the Constitution like they have sworn to. TSA is only accountable when they are trying to help it's self look good in the eyes of the public. This is one US citizen who is not dumb enough to believe your lies Bob. You and your organization needs to go away!

Now Bob, you and I both know that this article is at best disengenuous and at worst pure propaganda...The real security concern here is why TSSA continues to exist in a "Free" society when in fact everything it does is a violation of individual liberty and the fundamental right of all free people to say "No" to unwanted touching (or molesting if you will) or scanning of their person.There is nothing respectful about what your agency does...and clearly your agency is incapable of discriminating between a wet diaper and a prayer rug.Nice try Bob, but I still love the propaganda...as a purveyor of history one should always be well versed on the tactics of one's adversary.

By M. Rupert - BLN Contributing Writer

The controversy over the TSA body scanners has been uninterrupted since their inception, along with the insane TSA screening policies. To counter the legitimate concerns and questions of the American people, Janet “Big Sis” Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security would cite National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) findings.

Thanks to the admirable work of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), it has become clear that those statements by Napolitano were nothing other than a pure, unadulterated lie. It turns out that NIST does not do product testing, and they did not test the AIT machines for safety (as Napolitano falsely asserted in the above linked article). The director of NIST clarified this in a recently released e-mail which stated that NIST only “measured the dose of a single machine and compared it against the standard.”

Napolitano was fabricating the information about safety testing in her opinion piece published USA Today, that much is clear. What else was she lying to us about?

Not only did Napolitano egregiously lie about the testing conducted by NIST, she completely misrepresented the findings. This omission is putting every single unfortunate soul who has stooped to the level of working at the TSA at serious risk.

In another document obtained by EPIC, NIST outlines some of the serious dangers of these whole body scanners, specifically the Rapiscan Dual Secure 1000 Personnel Scanner. The design of the scanner creates an overshoot of the scanning beams, effectively leaking radiation from the machines, endangering those in the immediate vicinity.

NIST reports, “If wing shields are not used, either the occupancy of areas traversed by the four overshoot beams or the scan rate should be controlled to be made consistent with the recommended annual (skin entrance) dose limit of 100 mrem to employees.”

There is also some minor concern about the “scatter radiation” that results from the scanning beams’ radiation scattering off of the individual being scanned. While they make it clear that this radiation would result in less than the ANSI recommended 100 mrem dose limit, “consistent with the principle of ALARA (keeping exposures as low as reasonable achievable) it is recommended that employees do not routinely occupy the immediate open area next to the inspection zone.”

Clearly this means that the TSA agents operating these devices are exposing themselves to serious amounts of radiation that demand concern. These people are being bathed in radiation all day without even knowing it, and likely many of them will not pay attention to this massive breakthrough in the cover-up of the dangers inherent in any radiation-based imaging technology.

Napolitano also completely misrepresented the research conducted at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory in her USA Today propaganda piece. In the “Dose to General Public” section of the report released by EPIC, we read, “An area exists above each of the units, due to primary beam overshoot, where the 100 mrem per year general public dose limit could potentially be exceeded.”

To make matters worse for Big Sis’s attempted deceit, other qualified scientists have questioned the safety of these devices as well (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

Are there no comments yet (that I see) because everyone has so far been making comments of vulgar disbelief?What I don't understand is whenever there is public outrage, the TSA always hides behind the same phrase: "followed procedure." But with such a controversial procedure, how much outrage will it take before you look back and notice you're seriously doing more harm than good?

bob, please I know you have to follow the government good speak line but you know as well as we all do that you did not give a care about this women or her daughter. "most respectful way possible". the tsa is the rudest most power hungary organization i have ever dealt with. don't insult our intelligence

again the tsa is lying, saying that they never required the elderly lady to remove her diaper, utter lies, the tsa agent told her daughter that she had to remove her diaper to complete the pat down. so you are saying that the daughter of the lady is lying? i dont think so. the simple fact that she was in a wheelchair aroused suspicion, that is what the tsa spokeswoman said. i sure do hope the texas senat passes that bill that makes it a crime to perform invasive pat downs, it will send a message to the rest of america that we do not live in soviet russia or nazi germany.

Please tell us what the "other options" presented to the passenger were.

Please don't say this information is SSI. Since the "options" were allegedly given to the passenger, either they are not SSI or the screener who stated them should be disciplined/terminated.

I suspect the "other options" revolved around not being allowed to travel. That seems to be the standard TSA procedure--tell the passenger to allow the item to be "screened," or don't fly.

Unless TSA presented other specific, legitimate, respectful options that would allow the passenger to proceed to the gate, it is extremely disingenuous and deceptive of you to claim there were other options.

Also, what's with this phrase?

"We have reviewed the circumstances involving this screening and determined that our officers acted professionally, according to proper procedure."

You seem to use almost those exact words every time your screeners do something disgusting and un-American. Where's the accountability you claim exists?

"...We have reviewed the circumstances involving this screening and determined that our officers acted professionally, according to proper procedure and did not require this passenger to remove an adult diaper."

If removing it was not required, why then did the Mother and Daughter choose that particular option to get through security? What were the other options presented that made the removal seem like the best solution?

Without more information, there is no way for us to verify whether you're being truthful, Bob. What were those other options? If they were things like "this agent will put her hands down your underwear and feel around a bit," then they aren't really options, now are they?

Flyer privacy would in no way be affected if you were to reveal the options. Please don't hide behind that.

"Although TSA did not request it, the daughter ultimately chose to remove the adult diaper in a bathroom and return to the checkpoint."

Bob, did a TSO accompany the woman and her daughter to the bathroom stall? If not, then this further shows the farce that is your employer. The TSO must have been concerned that the woman was hiding something, else there would be no need for further scrutiny. Suppose she was, and the mother and daughter removed it and left it in the bathroom to be retrieved before boarding. The only way to ensure this did not happen would be for a TSO to have accompanied them to the bathroom stall as the diaper was removed. So, did this happen?

Or has your agency once again shown to the world what a true joke it is.

Read: "While our people were following protocol and acting reasonable (don't use us), we understand that it's embarrassing for an adult to take off their diaper in front of strangers. As a result, we'll make sure to molest people in private. Go back to sleep, America."

Dear Negative Bloggers, Its obviously going to take something to blow up again before we really appreciate what TSA does. Because of the public ignorance and because of the information that can't be release to the Public for security measures, its funny how we all want to blame TSA for EVERYTHING! We have no ideas what TSA does for our country because the press only releases the negative just like to do everything else. We should support any organization that protects our country. It amazes me how "we" USA citizens could be so ungrateful. Go to Israel and see how they screen their passenger when they try to fly. " With a machine gun in one hand" Get with the program people. Catch the BUS!

Seriously BB-it took THIS long to come up w/a posting which, I'm pretty sure is nearly a carbon copy of ones we've seen before when your screeners have screwed up (I'm specifically referencing the poor man who's colostomy bag broke at the hands of your screeners).

You are doing exactly what the terrorists want. That is dehumanizing, intimadating and huminlating American citizens that are law abiding. That is what they want and they are laughing at us every day because our government has played right into there hands. I can just see them sitting in the Middle East, watching what you are doing. I have one question what happens when some terrorist shoves something a cavity. Does that mean that then to fly the American public has to go through an exam? If that happens I will never ever fly and I will not let you or TSA demean me. It's bad enough that you are touching people's breasts, vagina's, and penises that are rape survivors. Do you know that it is like to live with PTSD? Do you know what it is like to be triggered? NO ONE TOUCHES MY BODY. That is why I will never fly because I know that I will end up in jail for assault.

Let's face it folks, once those TSO's removed that sweet lady to the "private" screening room, they realized that they had painted themselves into corner and had left themselves without options to clear this innocent passenger. They KNEW she was innocent or they wouldn't have allowed her to leave the screening area to be further humiliated. IF TSOs had used their brains (do they have them or are they mindless robots?) they would have thought one step forward but they didn't and painted themselves into that corner.

Of course, good security engineering and good risk management doesn't allow one to paint themsleves into a corner. This is what you get when your security approach is a "joke that relies on God and Luck". WELL DESIGNED security process doesn't rely on luck, randomness or humiliation.

I'm beginning to think that NO ONE at the TSA has any concept of security engineering or any background in security at all. IF they did, they wouldn't have had this problem and they wouldn't need to nudie scan us OR feel us up.

I've noticed something very interesting. Whenever some checkpoint "incident" gets enough publicity to require a response from the TSA, the response is always the same:

The TSA's "investigation" determines that the TSO followed procedures properly and acted professionally (and in this case, with "respect and sensitivity"). It then explains that the entire problem was the result of a "choice" the passenger made, or something the passenger did or failed to do. And it concludes by reiterating that TSA employees are highly trained professionals who always treat passengers respectfully and always follow the highest ethical standards. Case closed.

But what else should we expect from the TSA? When the procedures are secret, how could any passenger (or anyone else outside the TSA) know when a TSO is violating them, or challenge the TSA's determination that they were properly followed? When the TSA "investigates" itself, what other conclusion could they ever reach than "the TSO was right, the passenger was wrong." Thus cloaked in secrecy and shielded from anything resembling oversight or accountability, they can respond to any allegations of misconduct by simply denying them and blaming the accuser.

That many of us don't buy that doesn't matter. When TSOs are encouraged to resolve any checkpoint disputes with "Do you want to fly today?", who needs "respect and sensitivity" anyway? Especially when they know they can count on their leaders to back them up and always blame the passenger.

@JustSayin: You wanna get mad at someone? Get mad at terrorists for forcing this nation to take such measures in order to protect the flying public.

Actually, it's not the terrorists who forced "this nation" to do anything. They aren't the ones who set up the TSA. Rather, it's our own Leaders who created it as a reaction to terrorists. And it's our own Leaders who empowered unaccountable TSA officials to define "security" as "arbitrary hassle and humiliation."

It isn't the terrorists who decided that a 95-year-old incontinent woman needed to remove her diaper (whether by explicit command or by presenting her with "various options," of which this was the only one that was practical). It was a uniformed government employee, presumably following his orders as he understood them, with whatever "respect and sensitivity" he decided was appropriate.

The TSA would like us to blame "terrorists" for all the hassles, humiliation, and even instances where screeners acted like petty tyrants with neither respect, sensitivity, or common sense. But it's not the terrorists who are doing this to us. It's our own government. It's our own government that is supposed to serve the people and be accountable to the people, but has decided that "security" requires them to treat the people as enemies deserving of contempt.

Yes, we should be mad at the terrorists. But we should also be mad at the TSA for their dubious reaction to the terrorists.

This incident (and the TSA's non-response to it) highlights a longstanding systemic failure. The procedures and the TSOs who follow them (as they understand and interpret them) are adequate to uneventfully screen the vast majority of sheep-widgets who pass through the checkpoint assembly line.

It's the "exceptions" that display the systemic inadequacy. An exception may be anything from injectable medications that need to be kept cool with gel packs, to a mobility-impaired person who can't stand still enough in the "mugging" position to get a clear scanner image, to a 95-year-old lady with a soggy diaper. How passengers with these exceptions are treated depends entirely on the training, competence, intelligence, professionalism, and "sensitivity" of individual TSO.

We know that TSOs vary widely in these qualities. That variation and inconsistency may cause annoyance for sheep-widgets. But for "exceptions," that inconsistency can cause unnecessary humiliation, as in the case of the colostomy bag and now the woman in diapers. It may even impair life or health, if (for example) the TSO insists on opening a sterile feeding tube package, or decrees that the passenger either surrender the gel packs to keep medication cool or not fly. Because of this variability, I would even recommend that you avoid flying if your life or health depends on a TSO knowing and correctly implementing the rules about your equipment or medication. Blogger Bob would insist that we should be able to rely on TSOs knowing the rules. But the reality is that you can't rely on anything when it comes to the TSA. (The effect of this inconsistency on security is another matter entirely.)

If the TSA were an accountable agency, they would respond to this incident by overhauling training of their TSOs to ensure that they can handle "exceptions" like these consistently and professionally. Instead, they follow their usual practice of denying any problem and blaming the passenger.

JustSayin wrote: Don't buy into media hype, folks. The TSA is here to protect us. They're just doing their jobs.

You wanna get mad at someone? Get mad at terrorists for forcing this nation to take such measures in order to protect the flying public.

The "terrorists" haven't forced anything. It'd be the stupid sheep who believe the TSA is "protecting" them from scary things and only demanding the dignity of every traveler in return.

The TSA is not here to "protect us." The TSA may have started that way, but when TSA employees are going through travelers' receipts and paperwork and calling husbands about a possible "divorce situation," there's no way they can argue that it's about flight safety or security.

I want to thank you for doing what you do. I believe that the TSA has employees like everyone other organization that abuses their power. I do not agree with the way you touch peoples breasts and vaginas. There has to be a better way to keep us safe then invading a person's body. You have people that have been raped that have PTSD that do not need to be touched. There has to be a better way or get the TSA to have rape crisis counselors at the airports for when survivors fall apart after you touch them.

Anonymous said... "Its obviously going to take something to blow up again before we really appreciate what TSA does.

The individual that was the subject of the search has no complaints. Why should anyone else?"

Allowing something wrong to happen does not automatically make that same something right.

I complain about what the TSA is doing because what they are doing is wrong and ineffective. Just because the lady in question has no complaints does not absolve the TSA of the responsibility of what they are doing and the wrongness of it.

Or, to turn that around by way of example.... if I steal one dollar from you every day for a thousand days is that any less wrong than stealing a thousand dollars all at once from you next week?

The TSA is trying to steal from us a little every day instead of all at once and hoping we don't notice the little they take each day.

I have asked om many occasions how the TSA resolves medical/cosmetic implants beneath the skin (many of which will be in highly sensitive and private areas of the body)when they trigger a body scan alarm. Blogger Bob has stated that he will not say how such alarms are resolved. Please tell me how filling vulnerable passengers with fear and apprehension by them not knowing how they will treated when being body scanned is RESPECTFUL?

Anonymous wrote: "The individual that was the subject of the search has no complaints. Why should anyone else? "

So in your worldview, there's nothing that can be codified into law or regulations because it's all up to the whim of the people in the situation at the time. After all, what if the next person had the same problem and objected loudly and vigorously to the scrutiny and the pat-down they had to undergo?

Or does that argument only work for you when it happens to support the position you already support and were going to make anyways?

The issue with this incident is not whether the low-level grunts followed TSA policy. TSA's repetition of "Policy says X and they did X, therefore everything is fine" is incorrect. The low level grunt being mean to an old lady is irrelevant.

The issue here is that the policy itself is wrong. TSA's choice to adopt the objectively horrible policy is the issue. This blog is constantly focused on the completely wrong thing. Change the policy so that molestation is not part of the policy.

I am astonished at the amount of people who seem to think TSA employees somehow enjoy doing these patdowns and other security procedures. It may surprise you to know that TSA employees actually "hate" doing these procedures and wish there was a better way of keeping the public safe. If you geniuses out there can come up with better procedures, why don't you bring them up instead of making totally uninformed comments on something you know nothing about? Working for TSA is like cleaning up the sewer system. It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it. The fact is, no airplanes have been taken over by terrorists and flown into any buildings since 9/11. That is not luck or coincidence, my friend, that is thanks to the TSA employees who go to work every day and do their best to keep the creeps out of our planes!!!

Anonymous said...Dear Negative Bloggers,Its obviously going to take something to blow up again before we really appreciate what TSA does.

No, because the TSA isn't doing anything useful that can be appreciated.

Screening for terrorists is a stupid and useless exercise. Terrorists will go after the easiest targets. Making one place secure just makes them attack somewhere else. It doesn't stop them and it won't save any lives.

The original purpose of airport security was to stop hijackers, not terrorists. Hijackers have a goal of taking an airplane and forcing it to fly to a specific place. Screening for this makes sense - you can't hijack a bus to Cuba, you have to go to an airport.

Terrorists however don't have a specific target they need to get to. They will attack whatever is easiest to get. You can't stop them by screening because you can't screen everywhere. The only way to fight them is by finding them before they attack. The CIA and FBI do the real anti-terrorist work, not the TSA.

You wanna get mad at someone? Get mad at terrorists for forcing this nation to take such measures in order to protect the flying public.

The "terrorists" haven't forced anything. It'd be the stupid sheep who believe the TSA is "protecting" them from scary things and only demanding the dignity of every traveler in return.

The TSA is not here to "protect us." The TSA may have started that way, but when TSA employees are going through travelers' receipts and paperwork and calling husbands about a possible "divorce situation," there's no way they can argue that it's about flight safety or security.

Okay... aside from the current system that works with a 100% success rate (no terrorist attacks since 9/11), what other ideas do you have to ensure **maximum** security in US airspace?

I have found myself jaded by past comments from TSA, and I find myself questioning the veracity of this latest post, especially, since semantics and word parsing have played a key role in past statements.

When the TSA says that the screeners "did not require this passenger to remove an adult diaper", unfortunately, I find myself questioning the statement. Was she presented with options that would have allowed her to not have to remove / change the adult diaper and still have an opportunity to make her anticipated flight? If not, then I find the comment disingenuous at best. If there were no options to allow her to proceed through screening without needing to remove / change the adult diaper, then I would find the comment an outright lie. If the options to proceed through screening and fly (whether it is was her scheduled flight or a later one) meant she had to remove / change the adult diaper to clear screening is, in fact, requiring that it be removed.

And to use the aspect that she "didn't have to fly" to mean she wasn't required to remove it, is merely an attempt to rationalize the actions. If that's the case, then, as many have suspected, the TSA "never" requires anyone to do anything to proceed through screening.

@Anon: "I am astonished at the amount of people who seem to think TSA employees somehow enjoy doing these patdowns and other security procedures. It may surprise you to know that TSA employees actually "hate" doing these procedures and wish there was a better way of keeping the public safe."

Like many TSA'ers tell us ... if they don't like it, they don't have to work there.

"If you geniuses out there can come up with better procedures, why don't you bring them up instead of making totally uninformed comments on something you know nothing about? Working for TSA is like cleaning up the sewer system. It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it."

How long have you been on this blog? I've been here since the very beginning. Many were hopeful and offered many constructive idea. They're there - go read them.

After awhile, it became clear that TSA was only going to use this as a propaganda organ. They weren't here for a dialogue on security or to take suggestions on improvements. I've been in the industry for a long time - many of them were viable but TSA ignored them.

"The fact is, no airplanes have been taken over by terrorists and flown into any buildings since 9/11. That is not luck or coincidence, my friend, that is thanks to the TSA employees who go to work every day and do their best to keep the creeps out of our planes!!!"

Do you have proof of that claim? After all, we see guns repeatedly got thru the scanners at DFW and have a failure rate of up to 70%. Their history of failure fills volumes and the GAO has slammed them numerous times.

Despite all the evidence that's out there, why do you suggest that planes aren't falling out of the sky? It's clear TSA checkpoints leak like a sieve, so the logical conclusion is that we're really lucky, the terrorists aren't trying, or the threat is overblown.

Correlation does not equal causation. I can just as easily claim that planes haven't fallen out of the sky since 9/11 due to my magic rock. I know it works because there hasn't been a plane that fell out of the sky. My evidence is the same as yours. Now how can you that I'm not wrong when you're using the same argument to bolster yours?

The one thing that I have yet to hear a TSA apologist explain is why planes aren't falling out of the sky in other countries that don't use TSA's idiocy. Many countries don't have shoe carnivals, liquid bans, ID checks, and all the other lunacy we have. Yet planes still survive there. Can't say that terrorists aren't targeting them as we know terrorism isn't a uniquely American problem, and many countries deal with it too. So why are their skies safe without TSA's methods, but planes would crash down like rain if we didn't do what TSA says?

I am astonished at the amount of people who seem to think TSA employees somehow enjoy doing these patdowns and other security procedures.__________I am astonished that you are astonished. I believe it is a power trip. My mother has been yelled at (for not putting her items in a "bucket"--the correct term is "bin") and I personally have been pushed by a TSA agent.

It may surprise you to know that TSA employees actually "hate" doing these procedures and wish there was a better way of keeping the public safe._________ The Israelis have a great system. They do not engage in unwanted touching.

If you geniuses out there can come up with better procedures, why don't you bring them up instead of making totally uninformed comments on something you know nothing about?

_____________Eye contact and educated TSA agents. The Israelis do not accept anyone with less than a college degree. Additionally, the agent must speak at least two foreign languages and be physically fit.

I am sorry, but this blog proves that TSA agents have nothing but disdain for the traveling public.

Working for TSA is like cleaning up the sewer system. It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it.___________True. The WHO is very important. I am willing to pay for a college educated person who is an expert marksman.

The fact is, no airplanes have been taken over by terrorists and flown into any buildings since 9/11. That is not luck or coincidence, my friend, that is thanks to the TSA employees who go to work every day and do their best to keep the creeps out of our planes!!!_____________What?? Every person taken into custody was stopped by a private individual.

If you geniuses out there can come up with better procedures, why don't you bring them up instead of making totally uninformed comments on something you know nothing about? __________________Fair question.

1) The $52 billion dollars we've spent on the TSA would have been better spent on counter-terrorism efforts that identify terrorists long before they come close to their targets.

With a 70-100% failure rate at the TSA we've taken $52 billion dollars and flushed it down the proverbial toilet. So why keep throwing good money after bad?

I say take the money we're giving TSA to confiscate people's snowglobes and dig through leukemia patients' diapers and find a better use for it.

2) I support taking the role of transportation security 100% AWAY from this bloated, ineffective, government bureaucracy and PRIVATIZING it.

Private security has shown to be less costly and more effective. Sounds like a win-win to me.

John Pistole had eliminated the private security option at one point -- but I've read that they are again allowing airports to apply to use private security -- although I've also heard that they are making it extremely difficult for airports to do so and it's all "play by TSA's rules or else."

I would start there...

To those who are disturbed by some of the comments here. I understand that they may seem harsh. But we MUST hold our government accountable. It is our job as citizens of this country. We must demand the best possible use of our nation's resources.

When the TSA introduced nude scanners and groping as part of their security procedure, they actually made the checkpoint LESS safe in my opinion.

One of the biggest risks to frontline security defense is disaffected workers and disaffected customers. The TSA introduced FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) to the checkpoint creating needless confusion, anger and mistrust. This is a security risk in and of itself. The checkpoints these days are utter chaos.

Prior to these sweeping changes in October of 2010, we were safe for the most part given the fact we will never be 100% safe in the skies.

So TSA supporters, ask yourselves... why make these sweeping and offensive changes that are apparently not netting results? And are instead producing more FUD? Have you seen the checkpoints of late? They're frenzied, chaotic, stressed on both sides! Is this safety? I implore that it is not. Real security is organized, quiet and seemless.

Sure, I'd like to take my shampoo, I'd like to take my toothpaste, and my contact solution. I really don't want to take off my shoes and catch some nasty little foot fungi from the floor, but whatever, I can deal with it if I have to. What I cannot and will not deal with is a nude scanner and having my genitals carelessly touched by someone with a GED and rubber gloves and little to no training--despite what the TSA tells us about their training and apparent constant retraining.

Folks, TSA and your supporters, it's time to take off the tin foil hats and start solving your problems. The traveling public is NOT the problem, but your processes are broken making your problems our problems.

Look, we understand TSA people are mainly consciencious folks who are trying to protect travelers and believe in their mission. Certainly 99% of them don't like having to do enhanced pat-downs any more than travelers like me want to receive them. But that does not excuse this kind of insanity. It doesn't excuse the refusal to respond to an article in NATURE calling a major TSA program an unscientific crock. It doesn't escuse the refusal to respond to hundreds of comments pointing out first-hand-observed problems and challenging flimsy rationalizations. If I worked for TSA, my morale would be a lot higher if my leadership continuously and forthrightly engaged the traveling public.

Anonymous wrote: " The fact is, no airplanes have been taken over by terrorists and flown into any buildings since 9/11. That is not luck or coincidence, my friend, that is thanks to the TSA employees who go to work every day and do their best to keep the creeps out of our planes!!!"

Since 9/11 we haven't seen a President at Ground Zero with a bullhorn. Do you also credit the TSA with that "achievement"?

Of course you don't. Because correlation does not imply causation.

There may very well be a causal link, but you will have to prove that. Waving your hands around like some kind of Jedi won't work.

What evidence do you have that particular TSA policies have prevented another 9/11? What evidence do you have that the TSA at large has prevented another 9/11?

"If you geniuses out there can come up with better procedures, why don't you bring them up instead of making totally uninformed comments on something you know nothing about?"

Wand when walk-through metal detectors are not an option, and use explosive detection technology. Remember the chances of terrorism are VERY small, and not worth harassing millions for. Hire persons with the brain power to employ common sense.

I am astonished at the amount of people who seem to think TSA employees somehow enjoy doing these patdowns and other security procedures. It may surprise you to know that TSA employees actually "hate" doing these procedures and wish there was a better way of keeping the public safe.

...

It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it. The fact is, no airplanes have been taken over by terrorists and flown into any buildings since 9/11. That is not luck or coincidence, my friend, that is thanks to the TSA employees who go to work every day and do their best to keep the creeps out of our planes!!!

Huh???

Show me one piece of evidence that TSA has ever stopped someone who had terrorist intent from boarding an aircraft and/or boarding with weapons, explosives, or incendiaries. Note that people with guns who have no plans to commit terrorism, drug users, illegal aliens without terrorist intent, fake ids etc., *do not count.*

Now, I do believe such terrorists exist, and I also believe it's a good thing TSA has never caught such a person. That means the FBI, CIA, and military, are doing their jobs. That's the real anti-terrorist work. Waiting for a bad guy to come to the airport is just stupid.

Every post-9/11 aviation terrorist attempt that has made it to an airport (shoe bomber, underwear bomber) has been thwarted by passengers and/or flight crew, not TSA (or their international counterparts).

And the reason no more planes have been flown into building is because crew, passengers, and pretty much everyone will not allow it to happen. It only worked 3 times, and only for a few hours. Flying passenger aircraft into buildings lost its effectiveness as an attack method the instant the heroic UA93 passengers fought back.

Anonymous said...The fact is, no airplanes have been taken over by terrorists and flown into any buildings since 9/11. That is not luck or coincidence, my friend, that is thanks to the TSA employees who go to work every day and do their best to keep the creeps out of our planes!!!

No, that's due to putting locks on the cockpit doors. The TSA is not responsible.

Anonymous said... "...If you geniuses out there can come up with better procedures, why don't you bring them up"

Are you reading the same internet as the rest of us? I can find several dozen better procedures just in the comments of the last couple of posts. I can get several thousand more just from typing TSA into the google search bar.

And to the first half of your comment that I didn't quote above.... I do not believe that the Agents 'enjoy' asking someone to remove their adult diaper, or police style frisking of someone like me who wears a kilt through the checkpoint and then gets the randomizer beep where "I have been selected for random additional screening.".

I do believe, however, that the same bit of logic that is used on the TSA nay-sayers of "If you don't Like it you don't have to fly" applies to the Public-facing TSA Agents.... If you don't like what you do for the TSA you don't have to work today.

"Go to Israel and see how they screen their passenger when they try to fly. " With a machine gun in one hand" Get with the program people. Catch the BUS!"

Well, no, the screeners don't carry machine guns in Israel but I would like to see us implement Israeli-type security at the airports. It's much less intrusive and more effective than the nonsense the TSA plays about with.

The bus won't help. The TSA is extending its jobs program, oops!, "security" to buses as well.

I do not believe that terrorists have the goal or even hope to defeat US as a state. Their goal is to scare people and create paranoia of terrorists on the state level. The existence of the TSA in its current form, that harass, humiliates, the innocent people, treat them as criminals is main prove that the terrorist goals have been reached.The war on terror is lost.It seams that today a large number of people more concern dealing with TSA officers than with terrorists.It is time to ask who can protect us from TSA.

I have some problems with this situation. I think this could have been handled much better and just using some common sense would have helped.

There is a need for screening, but I think it needs to be revamped. I don't agree with the liquid restrictions but that is another topic.

I agree this woman had a choice. The choice was to remove the diaper or not take the flight that day. That's not much of choice. I think taking the woman to a private room for the screening was acceptable. However, just asking some questions would have determined that this woman was not a threat to safety. Isn't that what the BDO program is for? She should have been allowed to board the plane with the diaper and we would have never have heard about this.

The other problem I have is that this woman was allowed to leave the secure area and went to the restroom with her daughter unsupervised. They removed the diaper and apparently threw it in the trash. How is that safe? If this woman and diaper were such a security threat, why was she allowed to simply throw away the offending article? To me, that says the TSA knew she wasn't a risk to safety. The TSA knew there was nothing dangerous in the diaper. Either that or it's TSA policy to allow dangerous materials to be discarded in normal trash cans.

Just heard about the Nigerian that got on a plane with old and false documents. Next time I have to fly, if I get stopped or scrutinzed simply because of my brace, there will be a lawsuit in the air......That's a promise!

Enough is enough. TSA needs to get their heads out of their butts and start doing their jobs!

As long as TSA continues to look for THINGS and not at people, we will continue to have 95 year old, incontinent, cancer-riddled folks who can't even move being given the same inept once-over as Olajide Noibi, a Nigerian with no passport or other ID, but ten boarding passes in various names and all expired, flying around the country.

Once again, TSA let this guy through twice, and it was onboard flight personnel [i.e., stewardesses] who counted too many passengers on his second [attempted] flight.

TSA can't provide security and requires everyone else to do it for them, yet TSA has bins full of shampoo and toothpaste.

Can we please, please, pretty please stop this insanity while we are merely behind?

So Blog Team, are we going to wait another 5 days for you to release a statement regarding the Nigerian national who's been flying all over creation and back with an expired passport, and stolen and expired boarding passes?

HELLO! It is YOUR job to find THIS kind of problem. This is the MOST basic check that should happen accurately and with no exceptions or failures. Stop manhandling our genitals and please find these guys first M'kay? Are your checkpoints too chaotic now with nudie scanning and crotch groping to catch even the most basic breaches? I think so! STOP THE GROPE AND SCOPE! Then pay attention to the REAL problems. I've never felt less safe in my entire traveling career. And that is on YOUR heads TSA.

The fact is, no airplanes have been taken over by terrorists and flown into any buildings since 9/11. That is not luck or coincidence, my friend, that is thanks to the TSA employees who go to work every day and do their best to keep the creeps out of our planes!!!

Ahh, actually that is NOT the reason.Hardened cockpit doors, passenger awareness, and the fact that no terrorist have tried to take control of any airplanes in the USA.The TSA has stopped ZERO terrorists and actually allowed many onto airplanes.

"" ... It may surprise you to know that TSA employees actually "hate" doing these procedures ... If you geniuses out there can come up with better procedures, why don't you bring them up instead of making totally uninformed comments on something you know nothing about? ""

It never stops them from doing it, does it? Something that they know is immoral and wrong they STILL do it! Same thing was going on during WW2!

Hey anti-genius ... how about PROFILING and INTELLIGENCE at airports like Israel does??? Israel, a country who deals with terrorists EVERYDAY is LAUGHING at our system because is DOESN'T WORK!

"" The fact is, no airplanes have been taken over by terrorists and flown into any buildings since 9/11. That is not luck or coincidence, my friend, that is thanks to the TSA employees who go to work every day and do their best to keep the creeps out of our planes!!! ""

Oh please! How naive can you possibly be??? Exactly how many times were planes hijacked and purposely flown into buildings PRIOR to the T.S.A. being created?

And if the T.S.A. is doing such a great job then how did this happen??:

"A Nigerian man was able to board and take a seat on a Virgin Airways flight from New York to Los Angeles without a passport or a valid boarding pass.

The incident occurred last week at JFK airport as the man, Olajide Oluwaseun used an EXPIRED BOARDING PASS IN SOMEONE ELSE'S NAME FOR A FLIGHT SCHEDULED ON THE PREVIOUS DAY!"

Where was T.S.A. and all their layers of security? T.S.A.'s response:

“Every passenger that passes through security checkpoints is subject to many layers of security including thorough physical screening at the checkpoint… TSA’s review of this matter indicates that the passenger went through screening.”

Through screening, huh? Yeah, I feel safe! He was only caught when a FLIGHT ATTENDANT noticed that that seat was supposed to be vacant!

While TSA agents were consumed with an elderly woman's diaper, a Nigeria man with a day-old boarding pass successfuly went through airport security 5 days ago at JFK airport, flying from NY to LA. How did this happen?

Yesterday he was caught with a stolen ID and up to 10 old boarding passes. TSA may praise their agents for this "capture," but there are no second chances in this game.

Every single agent on duty last week who dealt with this man should be fired, stripped of security clearance, and employment benefits ceased--no questions asked.

As much as I want to compare the TSA to the Gestapo or Cold War era Eastern Bloc border guards, I won't. However, I will say that all of us need to contact our congressmen and let them know how frustrated we are with the TSAs inappropriate and unprofessional conduct, as a whole.

If someone that's new on the job is going 100% by the rules and checks everyone, sure, but when you completely disrespect and embarrass multiple disabled people (remember the man that had his urostomy bag burst by an overzealous TSA agent?), it's time for a change.

Is an elderly woman a threat? No. However, I know these people went through training to spot 'suspicious persons', and she was not one of them.

Let your congressmen know we're in the United States, not Iran or 1970s East Germany.

Finally, I say this, I fear flying. Yes, I am afraid to board a plane because of the TSA. What are they going to do to me? What are they going to do to my kids? I do not trust them and I am actually afraid of them.

Sadly, I gave 12 years of my life, and I knew people that gave their lives for freedom and it seems to be in vain because treatment like this wouldn't occur in a free country.

On my last flight, I was directed to the Nude-O-Scope instead of the metal detector. My choice was to submit to it or to an invasive patdown. Why? I had triggered no alarm and there were no "anomalies" to resolve. Was it because I am a retired U S Navy captain,combat veteran, squadron commanding officer with a Top Secret clearance from an FBI background investigation, or that I'm a retired prosecutor,or that I'm a retired airline captain. I'm an old white guy with a southern accent. What profile did I fit to merit the extra scrutiny. BTW, I wasn't wearing an adult diaper.

"The fact that TSA officers were following protocol in demeaning a 95 year old woman is NOT reassuring. Congress, please reverse your mistake and return airport security to the airlines"....YES BACK TO SEPT 11 2001. GROW UP AMERICA THE THREAT IS REAL!!!!!!!!!!

"She has a constitutional right to travel, so "not travelling today" isn't a valid option". Yes any where her legs can take her....SHE DOSE NOT HAVE THE "RIGHT" TO FLY, THE AIRLINE CAN REFUSE TO BOARD HER FOR MANY REASONS. GET REAL.

im curious, tsa has been around for how long now? how many people travel through tsa areas everyday with adult diapers on? how many have been singled out? did the people in this one incident have a problem with how things were handled? did the tsa people not follow tsa guidelines?

As long as TSA continues to look for THINGS and not at people, we will continue to have 95 year old, incontinent, cancer-riddled folks who can't even move being given the same inept once-over as Olajide Noibi, a Nigerian with no passport or other ID, but ten boarding passes in various names and all expired, flying around the country.

Once again, TSA let this guy through twice, and it was onboard flight personnel [i.e., stewardesses] who counted too many passengers on his second [attempted] flight.

TSA can't provide security and requires everyone else to do it for them, yet TSA has bins full of shampoo and toothpaste.

Can we please, please, pretty please stop this insanity while we are merely behind?

Anonymous said..."She has a constitutional right to travel, so "not travelling today" isn't a valid option". Yes any where her legs can take her....SHE DOSE NOT HAVE THE "RIGHT" TO FLY, THE AIRLINE CAN REFUSE TO BOARD HER FOR MANY REASONS. GET REAL.

July 1, 2011 8:08 AM

This is one of those mis-truths that have spread around the world multiple times, while the truth is still attempting to get it's boots on.

JustSaying bleated:"...like a sweet, innocent-looking 95 year old woman in a wheelchair who may not be alert of what's been placed inside her undergarments. "

Something might be "placed" in my undergarments before my next flight. Something might be slipped in the undergarments of any number of passengers. If the TSA believes this is a threat and isn't searching *every* passenger's underwear, it's creating an amazing security breach. Or is it only 95 year olds? Care to tell us the lower age limit or is that SSI? (hint: it doesn't qualify as SSI).

"Exactly why TSA needs to resolve all alarms before anyone boards a plane."

Except for those it doesn't screen, of course.

"Great job, TSA, for your perfect track record since 9/11."

Yes, thanks for the real underwear bomber. Thanks for the Nigerian national who slipped through security with false documents. Thanks for persecuting the patriot pilot.

Just(silly)Sayin said:"Okay... aside from the current system that works with a 100% success rate (no terrorist attacks since 9/11), what other ideas do you have to ensure **maximum** security in US airspace?"

Dear TSA,You may be the only group with an approval rating lower than Congress. I write to my elected officials on a regular basis about you and urge them to get rid of the TSA in favor of private contractors. This is an example of what frequent flyers already know, that you are just window dressing for the non flying public. You have nothing to do with my safety only my headaches.

Bob - You are mistaken. The TSA has admitted they forced the woman to remove her diaper or she would not be allowed to fly. Unfortunately the TSA has also changed their story. At first they said the diaper was not required to be removed, now they say they stand by the TSA officers that reqired it. Why can't we get a straight answer?

My own "last straw" experiences involved TSA personnel behaving like power tripping jerks. Lots of unnecessary yelling and barking of orders -- when simply saying what needed to be said in a civil manner would have gotten the job done. They were basically looking for an excuse to start throwing their weight around.

As we approach Independence Day, the TSA would do well to heed the the Declaration of Independence, particularly where it mentions that governments "derive their just powers from the consent of the governed".

My parents' generation fought WW 2, and both Mom and Dad served -- Mom as a yeoman at BUPERS and Dad fighting in Europe.

I'm a Cold War veteran myself, so the principles of liberty on which our country was founded are near and dear to me.

A person can be put on one of the various "lists" without receiving a statement of the charges and evidence, or the opportunity to confront one's accuser. TSA personnel are exempted from ordinary civility, never mind such concepts of a "government of laws and not of men" (i.e.: the "I am the rules" mentality).

Just Sayin said:"Okay... aside from the current system that works with a 100% success rate (no terrorist attacks since 9/11), what other ideas do you have to ensure **maximum** security in US airspace?"

To ensure **maximum** security in US airspace... simple -- allow nothing to fly through it. If something approaches it, dispatch the Air Force to eliminate and remove said threat. And since you are one of the commenters who note that we have no right to fly, this solution should be just fine with you, right?

Anonymous said..." That's all I have to say is if you don't like it then don't fly."

No, you have that wrong. Twice.

First, we're dealing with the TSA and the T is Transportation. The TSA is already installing itself into the Rail systems, Ports, and is investigating how to manage the Highway System. So not flying to avoid the TSA is not an option.

Second, if flying is so dangerous why don't you skip the flying. If the idea of sitting next to a potential terrorist is so scary to you, then don't fly. Me, I am an adult. I am willing to accept that minutely small chance as an acceptable risk. The risk-reward equation puts me in favor of flying.

You skip the flying and leave the skies to us adults who can handle the risks.

Abelard said: I see airport workers all the time at my local airport wheeling carts and such right past the TSA exit with a simple nod to the TSO making sure no one tries to enter via the airside exit.

What you dont understand is that airports have vendors that have items unable to go through the checkpoint lanes, so they bring them around exit, where a TSA supervisor meets them, inspects the equipment and the airport employee returns back through exit to go through security. So, yes, you DO see them go around exit but they come back around. I love when people (you) just assume you know everything about a job to which you have, um lets see, NO knowledge. You are always gonna see what you wanna see, instead of *thinking* there IS an explanation. If you seek the negative, thats what you'll see EVERY time. Hows about we be positive, hmmm?!!! It makes for such a nicer day :)

Anon said: What I cannot and will not deal with is a nude scanner and having my genitals carelessly touched by someone with a GED and rubber gloves and little to no training--despite what the TSA tells us about their training and apparent constant retraining.

#1...I want to know how having more than a GED makes the patdown that much more tolerable. This statement is just silly and uncalled for. I myself have only a high school diploma but I had almost 3 yrs of college before I had to leave due to personal reasons, and I dont feel I'm any less of a person bc I dont have a college degree. Again, these kinds of judgements are just silly. For all I know, I have more education than you, but I dont judge, its not necessary. Moving on... #2...We DO have many weeks of training before we can even certify as a new TSO and then the training/testing is constant and ongoing. The training and testing is very nerve-racking if you want to know the truth. And it should be. Our every move is scrutinized by our supervisors/managers, not to mention, we are constantly badgered by the traveling public; in person, in the media or via this blog (mostly). Its straining on us too, trust me. But anyways, the training IS there and its constant.

Quoted:"Because a 95 year old woman with cancer is going to blow up a plane right? You heard it first people cancer patients, the physically disabled, the mentally challenged and six year old little girls are going to blow up a plain (sic)."______________________Actually to put it bluntly, those are EXACTLY the type of people used overseas (You know, the place where all our soldiers are right now) in terrorist bombings. Just last week a child was given a suicide backback and blown up at a checkpoint. Underwear bomber. Old people who are paid large sums of money which are given to thier families to wear suicide belts. The Russian "Black Widows" who wore fake pregnancies filled with explosives several years ago (look it up).

As distatsefull as it is for all involved, everyone who goes through the CP MUST be screened to the same level. the diaper was an anomally that had to be checked. Do I wish it didn't? Of course I do. Am I glad it was, I certainly am as my mother, son etc might be on that plane.

Screen like in Israel? I wish we could - have passengers get to the airport 4-5 hrs early, have them pulled out of line at random, grilled for an hour or two, have thier belongings unceremouniously dumped on the floor in front of everyone els, picked through and then told to repack them themselves as the security (with machine guns) moves on to the next person? Heck yes!

Anonymous said..."What you dont understand is that airports have vendors that have items unable to go through the checkpoint lanes, so they bring them around exit, where a TSA supervisor meets them, inspects the equipment and the airport employee returns back through exit to go through security."

I am glad that is the way it works at your airport. At my local airport that is NOT how it goes down. The nice janitor lady with her cart of cleaning stuff walks through the exit, the Agent standing there flips some switch that silences the alarms, she goes on through and waves her id in the general direction of the Agent, and then presumably the agent flips the switch back to its original position again, and everything keeps on keeping on.

And you can swap Janitor Lady with Delivery Boy, Janitor Man, and Random Airport Worker pushing a stack of wheelchairs.

And that is just in the hour or so I spent in the terminal recently.

Oh, sure, the Agent knows the Janitor Lady because they have been working together a while. But! If security is so important and the Terrorists are so wiley and unpredictable, isn't is possible they have hidden something in her cart when she wasn't looking? Couldn't the nice Janitor Lady be in some sleeper-cell just waiting to be activated?

How many more Hollywood movie plots do I need to offer up here to point out the disconnect in what is being done versus what is being claimed as the reasons for what is being done? Either inspecting everyone and everything is important, or it isn't. It can't be important over here and not be important over there.

What you dont understand is that airports have vendors that have items unable to go through the checkpoint lanes, so they bring them around exit, where a TSA supervisor meets them, inspects the equipment and the airport employee returns back through exit to go through security.

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Anon I watched a vendor with a cart load of beverages bypass TSA security at DFW. The cart, the contents of the cart and the person pusing the cart went through the TSA checkpoint without any screening, interaction with TSA employees, and did not return for any form of screening.

I just love it when a single TSA employee thinks they know everything going on in every airport in the country.

Uncontrolled search and seizure is one of the first and most effective weapons in the arsenal of every arbitrary government…Among deprivations of rights, none is so effective in cowing a population, crushing the spirit of the individual and putting terror in every heart.”-- Justice Robert Jackson, chief U.S. prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials